PEKIN, Ill. – Pekin’s City Council this week approved plans for a potential methanol plant in the Riverway Business Park.
The agreement would allow Ambient Fuels of New York to buy 47 acres from the city for $1 million, and invest $550 million in developing it.
Ambient Fuel’s Emily Wolf says the plant would bring around 25 new jobs to Pekin.
“They would be the kind of high-paying jobs, above the national average, for types of roles including operations and maintenance,” Wolf says.
Pekin Economic Development Director Josh Wray says the company would manufacture methanol by using ethanol, carbon dioxide and green energy. It would not require large CO2 pipelines.
“This is not being sent out of the plant, it’s going into the plant to be utilized. And, it will be a small diameter line, approximately 4-6 inches, not a large pipeline,” Wray says.
The plant would be making methanol and selling it, and there would be no smell associated with production.
Ambient Fuels would have a two-year option to buy the property just off Hanna Drive for $1 million. The company is still required to submit engineering studies before a final decision is made.
Money from the deal with Ambient would go into a TIF district that Pekin could use for future infrastructure projects.
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